Nurse pleads guilty to murdering 11 in Sydney nursing home fire

USPA News - A nurse who masqueraded as a hero pleaded guilty Monday to murdering eleven elderly people in November 2011 by setting fire to a nursing home in the Australian city of Sydney, prosecutors said. More than 20 others were injured in the devastating blaze.

The fire broke out just before 5 a.m. on November 18, 2011, at the Quakers Hills nursing home in northwest Sydney, the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales (NSW). About 100 firefighters from throughout western Sydney responded to the blaze that eventually became one of the country`s deadliest fires in recent years. Three elderly residents died during the blaze while eight others died in the following weeks at various Sydney hospitals while undergoing treatment for severe injuries, including burns and smoke inhalation. The victims were identified as mostly female residents between the ages of 73 and 97. Roger Dean, a 37-year-old registered nurse who worked at Quakers Hills, was arrested hours after the blaze after initially giving television interviews to describe his efforts to rescue those trapped inside the nursing home. Dean had been on duty at the time of the blaze and a subsequent investigation alleged he had set fires in two locations. Dean had been questioned by officers just hours before the blaze over allegations that he had stolen prescription drugs from the nursing home, a charge he previously pled guilty to. On Monday he also pleaded guilty to eleven counts of murder and will face a maximum sentence of life in prison.